The effect of heel on a fin keel yacht’s hull

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Millward, A.

Affiliations: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Liverpool, England

Abstract: Experiments have been carried out on a model of a Tempest, a light displacement fin keel yacht, to measure the effects of heel angle on the hydrodynamic forces produced by the hull. The measurements showed that a positive heel does not significantly affect the hydrodynamic forces, except at high speeds, although the overall performance of the yacht could be expected to be changed because of the reduction in sail forces. An unusual effect was measured in the low and medium speed regime where the results showed that the performance could be improved by allowing the hull to heel to windward.

DOI: 10.3233/ISP-1978-2528303

Journal: International Shipbuilding Progress, vol. 25, no. 283, pp. 74-77, 1978